WASHINGTON - People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker released the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s remarks today on the fiscal showdown:

“President Obama has offered a strong vision for solving our fiscal problems and moving our economy in a way that is true to our values and right for our future.

“Republicans in Congress have offered a plan that will hurt the economy and create even more hardship for those who are already struggling to get by. We know that austerity won’t put anyone back to work. Instead, it will cripple job creation and reverse the recovery. Republicans plan to raise new revenue by stealing from working families by ending important tax breaks while letting the wealthy off the hook. This vision, based on the faulty principles of Romney-Ryan economics, was rejected roundly at the ballot box and must be rejected on Capitol Hill.

“In this week’s election, Americans spoke loudly and clearly for a fiscal policy that creates jobs from the ground up, gives everyone a fair chance, and expects everyone to pay their fair share. President Obama has a mandate from the American people, and Congress must respect it.”

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People For the American Way is dedicated to making the promise of America real for every American: Equality. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The right to seek justice in a court of law. The right to cast a vote that counts. The American Way. Our vision is a vibrantly diverse democratic society in which everyone is treated equally under the law, given the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams, and encouraged to participate in our nation’s civic and political life. Our America respects diversity, nurtures creativity and combats hatred and bigotry.

Further

With the toxic Bibi circus in town - cue talk of "tentacles of terror" - find hope in the extraordinary Combatants For Peace, a joint effort by Israeli and Palestinian veterans of violence who've laid down their guns to fight for peace. Led by a former IDF soldier and Fatah militant who both lost daughters to the conflict's "unrightable wrongs," they insist on the need to "hear what is painful" and "talk to your 'enemies'...Partners for peace always exist. You only have to look for them."